Combat Aircraft Journal heads to Hawaii to witness Exercise ‘Sentry Aloha’ as the resident Raptors go up against visiting fighters for valuable dissimilar training.
When the Hawaii Air National Guard’s (ANG) 154th Wing received its first F-15 Eagles in 1987, the reality of its remote operations was a major consideration. While the location is strategically important, it limits the ability for the unit’s aviators to keep their skills sharp. In-house training is notoriously limited when it comes to fighter aircraft.
With the need to generate Dissimilar Air Combat Training (DACT) in mind, the ANG came up with Exercise ‘Sentry Aloha’ — which has for three decades and several times a year bought together a collection of US military assets as well as other visiting air forces on the beautiful island of Oahu.
This year’s first such exercise, ‘Sentry Aloha 20-1’, took place between January 8-22 with a typically appealing spread of fighters — including a dozen F-16Cs from the 18th Aggressor Squadron (AGRS) out of Eielson AFB, Alaska, eight F-15Cs of the 194th FS, California ANG from Fresno and 12 resident F-22As from the 19th and 199th Fighter Squadrons at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam. Alongside the traditional tanker support, a pair…
